Hey, everyone - now that we're getting a fair number of 50s in the guild, there have been some questions regarding Ops groups (hereafter referred to as "raiding" because "opsing" sounds ridiculous). I'm going to lay some groundwork on this topic here and field any questions you've got. I'll update this OP if necessary.

Note that much of this post applies to Flashpoints as well as Operations.

Preliminary Q: What is/are "Raiding"/"Ops Groups?"

A: Since people from different backgrounds may have different associations with the terminology, here's a quick rundown:

"Raiding" is any content requiring more than the standard 4 people needed for Flashpoints. In this case, we're talking about 8 and 16-person groups doing instances referred to in TOR as Operations. These typically require significant advance planning and a time commitment of 2 or more uninterrupted hours.

There are also non-instanced Raid-level bosses in the wild called World Bosses and while many of the ideas presented below might apply to trying to take on a world boss, that's not the target of this post.

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Q: Is Iron Circle a raiding guild?

A: Put simply, No.

Put complicatedly, IC is a casual guild that raids and raids well because we have quality players and a community based on mutual respect. However, raiding is not the primary focus of the guild.

Q: I'm a "Recruit" - does that mean I can't raid?

A: Absolutely not. Recruits are afforded every opportunity to participate in all guild activities that Members and Officers are. In fact, everyone of Member rank and higher are encouraged to include Recruits in groups of all kinds, so we can better get to know them and discuss their timely promotion to Membership.

Q: How are raids planned?

A: Using the Iron Circle Guild Site that you're looking at now. We understand that there are some challenges regarding access and all that to the site, but we're working to resolve them. That said, I see three "phases" of site use:

Soon: We'll have a specific forum for posting events. Remember that if you use the "View Active Topics" link you'll see all new posts and won't have to check the Event forum specifically.

Eventually: We'll have a full raid calendar that automatically posts event details with signups to the events forum when a new event is created. You can see the tool on the WoW side of this site; member-level (yellow name) people will see more events than unverified (grey name) people.

Q: Is there a raiding schedule?

A: Not yet, and no single weekly group should be expected to raid more than two or possibly three nights per week. Most of us are adults with jobs and families, and these come first.

However, if you sign up for a group that is scheduled for 3 specific nights, be sure you can attend all three nights and be on time. Again, common courtesy rules apply.

Q: Who plans raids?

A: Anyone. Again - there is no "functional" difference between Recruits, Members and Officers. Eventually we may settle of a few designated "raid leaders" to run regular events, but even then, anyone is still able to create new events whenever they want.

Q: How is loot distributed?

A: By random roll.

Raid leaders will have Master Loot ability and will call for specific classes/specs to /roll for a specific drop. Priority is typically given to mains before alts and we'll probably even have to have a third "tier" of rolling for companions.

Universal IC loot philosophy: don't be a jerk. Only roll on items you'll use yourself. If you've won something, kindly pass on a subsequent drop if someone who hasn't won something can use it.

Q: What about underperforming raiders - what do we do about them?

A: First off, the golden rule of treating your guildmates with respect is paramount. Do not call out or harangue raid members if they make a mistake. This even applies to PUGs - if you're sporting an Iron Circle tag, you're expected to represent the guild in the best, most considerate possible manner.

That said, if you feel a specific person is making repeated and egregious errors, you can privately talk to them and see if there's a reason they're not behaving correctly and if you can help them. IC members are expected to be mature enough to handle some constructive criticism as long as it's not provided offensively.

We don't have any combat logging or other "empirical" tools to determine individual performance, so don't just assume that someone isn't doing their part. If a group is having difficulty, try to be helpful and proactive about finding a solution to the problem.

In the long run, we hope that certain players who become proficient in a given class can mentor other players learning that class. In any case - that's why we have the class-specific forums here. Use them to discuss the best techniques for your role.

Q: I still don't want to take the risk of playing with a bad person. Can I form a group of my friends and raid with them exclusively?

A: No. If your goal is to push an Ops group to the limit and advance to the most difficult content as soon as possible, then IC is probably not the best guild for you. We feel that the practice of creating "static" groups of players that operate independently within the guild is destructive to guild unity.

We're not saying you can't play with your friends, obviously. But everyone should be given an equal opportunity to participate if they want to. If we have more people wanting to do end-game content than we have groups for, we'll make more groups.